Meet Jake Oliver. The day will come when he's one of the best cleaners in the business, a man skilled at making bodies disappear. At the moment, however, he's a 22 year old rookie cop, unaware his life is about to change. In a burning barn a body is found--and the fire isn't the cause of death. The detectives working the case have a pretty good idea about what went down. But Officer Oliver thinks it's something else entirely, and pursues a truth others would prefer remain hidden - others who will go to extreme lengths to keep him quiet.

Your Likes make Audible better!

Publisher's Summary

Most careers begin with an interview and a handshake. Others require a little something more.

Meet Jake Oliver. The day will come when he's one of the best cleaners in the business, a man skilled at making bodies disappear. At the moment, however, he's a 22-year-old rookie cop, unaware his life is about to change. In a burning barn a body is found - and the fire isn't the cause of death. The detectives working the case have a pretty good idea about what went down. But Officer Oliver thinks it's something else entirely, and pursues a truth others would prefer remain hidden - others who will go to extreme lengths to keep him quiet.

I purchased this 9 months ago and tried to listen to it. But I am impulsive and compulsive and did not give it proper attention. I know this because this time I started it from the beginning and was riveted for the next 8 hours of listening.

It begins with a covert hit of some kind by highly trained professionals. The man in charge of cover up, called a cleaner, notes a few mistakes made during the operation, but is confident all loose ends are covered. But when a 22 year old rookie police officer begins noticing very obscure clues, the cleaner's job becomes infinitely more complicated.

Fortunately for the cleaner, the rookie's inexperience and lack of authority renders his investigation useless by authorities. But the cleaner watches in amazement at the young cop's eye for detail and logic uncovers the truth of what really went down. But now another problem has reared its head. A key member of the hit squad wants the rookie dead.

Thus begins the end of a talented police officer's career before it really began, and the recruitment and training of a professional cleaner in the covert world of espionage.

STORY (thriller) - Becoming Quinn is Book 4.1 in this series, but it should be Book 1. It explains the story of how Jake, a young cop, is motivated to change careers and become a cleaner -- the guy that gets rid of bodies and makes the scene of "an elimination" appear as if nothing ever happened. I stumbled on Book 5 in this series in a sale (The Destroyed) and absolutely loved it, so I decided to start the series from the beginning.

The story starts quickly and is exciting till the very end. There's plenty of detective work, action and great character development of young Jake, who by the end of the book has become Quinn the cleaner. The book can stand alone, but you won't be able to resist continuing the series to see how he handles his first assignment.

PERFORMANCE - Scott Brick is wonderful in this book. It's not that he does any foreign accents or multi-character differentiation, but just the way he reads...

OVERALL - I would highly recommend this for any adult who enjoys good thrillers. There is killing and "cleaning" but the book isn't overly violent and not at all gory. There is no sex, and I don't remember any cursing. Start with this book before you continue on with the series.

I'm pretty stingy about 5 star reviews ... However, if you like books of this genre as well as Brett Battles and his protagonist Quinn, you'll really like "Becoming Quinn". Please don't be put off by the fact that this is a prequel or rather short for an unabridged book - I think this is one of Battle's finest books.

This prequel is well done. It is not too long, but does fill in one big missing piece of Quinn's life: what did he do before he was a cleaner?

If you have been reading the series you know his real name is not Jonathan Quinn, he has a biological family, and he was trained to be a cleaner. What he did before, how he was recruited, and why he picked the name all stem from one incident. Battles, as usual, weaves this into an entertaining tale about murders and "Quinn's" curiosity. It is a satisfying read with just the right amount of information. It does not overload us with history, but tells of the event that created the cleaner we know.

Scott Brick is becoming the voice of Jonathan Quinn. Please keep it up!

Was pleasantly surprised. My first Brett Battles book. Looking forward to another excellent assassin series! Looking at the reviews of the Jonathan Quinn series, I'm glad I have this backdrop heading into the collection.

What made the experience of listening to Becoming Quinn the most enjoyable?

Enjoyed the progression of the story. Not sure why the character played so close to the vest, knowing he was out of bound on the force, but made for an interesting story. Can't wait to hear from the character again he his new role.

Great book. He brought Jonathan Quinn alive as without it turning into a caricature. I know some people actually like Scott Brick but his smarmy, better-than-than-thou voice drives me nuts. I could only take the book in small bits do to the narration, but the story was great.

This I my first read/listen by Brett Battles but certainly not my last... I picked the title based on reviews and 4.95 offer by audible. I am so glad that I took the offer and glad that I read this one first (based on the highly rated reviews of the other Quinn titles).

The story kept me listening and on the edge of my seat throughout. This is the story of how a newly inexperienced rookie cop uses his instincts, combined with his training lands him in the middle of a professional hit and clean-up job gone wrong. He thinks outside the box and finds the clues overlooked by the detectives working the case. Quinn reminded me a little bit of a younger Colombo but much more...more modern, more action, more suspense and much more entertaining. This is the story of how Jake Oliver became Jonathan Quinn, the Cleaner. Highly recommend.

Scott Brick is one of my favorite narrators and he did an excellent job.

Your report has been received. It will be reviewed by Audible and we will take appropriate action.

Can't wait to hear more from this listener?

You can now follow your favorite reviewers on Audible.

When you follow another listener, we'll highlight the books they review, and even email* you a copy of any new reviews they write. You can un-follow a listener at any time to stop receiving their updates.

* If you already opted out of emails from Audible you will still get review emails by the listeners you follow.